In February 2017, the Statistician-General, Pali Lehohla, released the latest mortality rates and causes of death report, which marked a 3% decline in mortality rate.
However, should you have been amongst the 460,236 deaths that were recorded, the last thing you want your family to worry about is the cost of your funeral. Investing in Funeral Cover offers you peace of mind when the worst happens.
Mortality Facts
While South African life expectancy is up, and our mortality rate is down, we still have a low life expectancy compared to the rest of the world. According to Statistics South Africa, “South Africans’ life expectancy is now 64 years, up from 53 years in 2006 and putting the country on track to achieve the National Development Plan goal of a 70-year life expectancy by 2030.”
- Statistics South Africa revealed these mortality facts based on all the death notification forms maintained by the Department of Home Affairs:
- The largest single cause of death is HIV/AIDS, accounting for 132,990 (25.5%) deaths. This is at least five times greater than the next largest single cause of death.
Ischaemic heart disease and stroke follow, accounting for about 6.5% of the deaths. - Tuberculosis and interpersonal violence are next in the ranking, each accounting for about 5.5% of deaths.
- Males have higher proportions of deaths due to homicide/violence, tuberculosis and road traffic accidents than females.
- Females have higher proportions of deaths due to HIV/AIDS, stroke, hypertensive heart diseases and diabetes mellitus.
When to get Funeral Cover?
It is never too early nor too late to invest in Funeral Cover.
Medical Gap Cover Questions & Queries
A Gap Cover plan is what you can also get, in order to cover any medical aid in-hospital shortfalls. Having medical aid is the first step, but even then, you might have to cover costs to cover the differences between what a doctor may charge over and above medical aid rates.
If you have any more queries or questions about TRA Gap Cover, why not reach out to our helpful specialists? You can also visit our Gap Cover page here.
